Thread for those no longer using Oz/sax/wegovy

[Menora]

I couldn’t see a thread sorry if this is a double up. Might help some of us stay on track?

I stopped Ozempic in August. From April to August I had lost 13kg. Since then I have lost another 2kg but am pretty static. It was great and worked well but I just can’t afford it anymore and was sick of trying to source it.

However I do need to lose another 10-15kg to be out of the obese range closer to a healthier weight.

I am struggling with my willpower, I am generally managing to eat well in meals but snacking has crept back in and this weekend it was someone’s birthday and there was cake and all kinds of nice foods so I did take part but tried not to over eat. I can feel I am close to falling off the wagon yet again as I always do and going back to my old binge eating ways. I’ve not even managed to keep up with my gym routine and have only been going twice a week!

For anyone who has stopped weight loss aids how are you doing?

I am going to try to get my head down and get some more weight off by the end of the year. I think the only way is to count calories now and up my exercise

Just this minute used my last shot of Ozempic. No chance of getting anymore worldwide till next year due to shortage. Feeling very nervous about falling off the wagon too.
thanks for starting the thread!
I know all the lessons I learned from using it but without it’s “magic” I’m feeling vulnerable to bad habits creeping back in

I’ve started drinking wine again in the evening and then snacking! Then I will eat less in the day to make up for it so it’s all the bad habits coming back again. I do not drink wine every evening but when I wasn’t at all I could get up at 6am and go to the gym. Now I am laying in till 7.30am and then putting off going gym in the evenings. Tbh it doesn’t help my gym changed their timetable and swimming is at 9pm now not 6pm.

However I’ve signed up to 2 classes on Tuesdays and will go to them both. Then I will go again on Thursday and Sunday. Then that’s upped my exercise. I will also not buy bloody wine and get rid of all the birthday cake that is here too!

I started a thread yesterday on this (life after ozempic) but nobody has commented so happy to find other people in this position. 😀

My story so far....
Started ozempic in December and lost 3 and a half stone by July. I plateaued for a few weeks at 9st 4 (my comfortable weight) and then moved back down to 0.5mg pens for a bit due to the shortage. My weight has crept up a little and I didn't see the point in paying so much money for an ineffective dosage, so stopped. I had gained 3lbs in the last few weeks and then really noticed the hunger and cravings this week. This is when I decided I really need to refocus. I worked hard last week with my eating and I've got rid of the gain. I'm hoping that my body will naturally adjust over time and this will become my new normal. Its gonna be tough for a few weeks but I want to stay focused.

I was thinking of going to the chemist for some chromium to help with the cravings. The more I cut out sugar, the less I crave it. Must keep reminding myself of this.

My friend has just started her ozempic journey. She has a medical professional mixing the raw ingredients. Costs a fifth of what I was paying and I really hope it goes well for her. As for me, I feel this is where the hard work starts but I start it in a better place and without an overwhelming mountain to climb.

I will stop my ramblings now.

How are you all getting on?
I am still managing to lose weight just very slowly! I’ve lost 9lbs in 10 weeks so it’s just not as fast as with ozempic. I am having to live in a calorie deficit every day. However I have no energy for the gym lately so haven’t been at all!

Keeping as a diary - I’ve managed to lose 3 more lbs since I started the thread just in a calorie deficit. I finally, finally have a BMI under 30! I’ve lost over half a stone without ozempic although it’s very slow and harder, I’m pleased and going to keep going. I feel more confident now I can do it without ozempic but I fully admit I never would have got this far without it

I'm really struggling. I put on a couple of pounds and then I lose a couple of pounds. I'm yoyo ing but not actually losing weight. I'm hungry but exercising.

I was using Saxenda and stopped as it was giving me the worst heartburn. I gained back nearly all the weight I had lost on it 🤦🏼‍♀️ I have started doing intermittent fasting and in two weeks I have lost just over 4kgs and I feel amazing. Better than I did on Saxenda. I'm trying to make fasting a lifestyle and not just until I reach my weight loss goal, which is another 15kgs to go. For context, I only lost 8kgs on Saxenda in about 7 months (I could t increase the amount of it I was using due to the heartburn) so I'm quite thrilled with how this is going. X

I was in Saxenda, then my suppliers made me go to a lower level due to supply issues at which point it stopped being effective.

They then moved me to Ozempic and it just didn't feel as effective, mucking around with the doses ruined its effectiveness. I also felt like I had lots of heartburn. I did lose 8kg but I started at 103kg so not as significant as for someone who weighs less.

I stopped and hovered at that same weight and then the heartburn turned out to be gallstones. (So @Dreamingofhazelnuts please get checked out, it's a know side effect apparently.)

So I joined Weight Watchers on the blue program which has a combination of some zero point food but mostly food with points allocated. I'm only in week 2 but it feels like it's working, but I'm waiting to find out if I have to have by gallbladder removed.

How is everyone doing?

I’ve now come off due to the cost and I’m a bit nervous about what might happen. I desperately don’t want to put on all the weight I’ve lost but I can hardly find any sorties about people who have been on this and managed to do that.

@Menora you sound like you may have had some success though!?

@LittleDitto

hi! I am definitely in a plateau now so I am having to really work through this mentally. for me, this journey is a mental mountain! It’s so hard.

My history of weight loss on MFP tells me I have hit my body’s happy weight, around 12st 12. It’s not my happy weight and it’s overweight for me but if you believe in set point theory then this is my set point. I always, always get here and struggle - and usually give up.

i have a few options. Go back to ozempic or wegovy and do it this way, but I have to accept I will face this problem again another time, at another point in future. Maybe I will get down lower on ozempic then stop taking it and gain loads back, or I will plateau on Oz anyway.

I can give up and eventually gain it back

Or I can keep going - even though I really want to give up and I also really want to keep trying, and I also want to cling onto ozempic.

I am hovering/maintaining so I am accepting that things are not sliding back. I also read a lot about set point theory and how my body may need time to readjust. Perhaps I am eating my maintenance calories for the time being and I just need to be patient.

What I do know is ozempic won’t fix this mental barrier or challenge, not really. This is for me to overcome on my own. I am keeping trying, I’ve come too far to give up!

Don’t despair is all I want to tell anyone, don’t give up. You can win over your negative thoughts and get there in the end!

@OrderOfTheKookaburra i had two what they think were gallbladder episodes on ozempic so this also puts me off going back on it. My heartburn is much better off it too

That’s all really interesting stuff, thanks for posting and for your honesty. Sounds like you really have the determination to succeed with this which is very encouraging. Sounds like it’s been a challenge but as you say when your body catches up with your brain then perhaps it’ll feel a bit easier.

Can I ask you how much you lost?

@LittleDitto

In total I have lost 16kg from starting.
I have however only lost 3kg since stopping ozempic end of August. The weight loss was very rapid up to then so I think it’s safe to say that my current WL rate is probably normal for anyone without a medication but it feels like you aren’t getting anywhere (you are but it is slower). It’s now facing the marathon of keeping it going that will be the challenge. I assume this is going to take me about a year total. I have 12kg still to lose

you sound very similar to myself with what I’ve lost and what I’ve still got to lose. I’m determined like you to have focus. I hadn’t really anticipate there being issues coming off it but I guess you’re just so happy to finally find something that works so effectively that you put that to the back of your mind until you’re faced with what to do next.

@LittleDitto I try to console myself that I had to stop one day, why not now and get used to it rather than the complete shock of losing the whole 28kg and then putting a load back on in 6 months? Whilst I don’t want to be down on ozempic - it’s done me amazingly so far - I do worry that in a years time this forum will be full of women who spent £££££ on ozempic only to have regained it and be very unhappy. There is no support for how to stop this medication and not really any guidance. It is worrying. This is what keeps me from going back to it, learning to stand on my own 2 feet

Now I’m absolutely NOT one of those “big pharma” conspiracists at all, BUT I bet the reason there’s no real aftercare has got a hell of a lot to do with how much money this must be making for the companies that produce it. I know “diet culture “ is notorious for taking advantage while taking it in, but this has been such a miracle drug for so many and it costs an obscene amount.

@LittleDitto I agree, I feel like it’s just going to keep people in a loop forever? You take it for 2 years and then fall off the wagon and have to go back on. I think in a few years there will be post semaglutide support groups all over the place. The scariest thing for me is seeing post after post from women here who think it’s going to cure their food addiction issues forever or frustrated they still feel hungry. I was one of them. You get so excited about this miracle you completely forget there even is a life beyond it. One day someone will work out how to turn hunger off permanently with some kind of gene therapy and sell that but I am not sure that is a good thing. Hunger is a normal human response and I believe UPF is certainly the key to why we are here but it’s not going to help anyone whilst it’s still so prevalent and has ingrained itself so deeply into society

Keeping accountable. Had to make a lot of changes but WL is back on track again at 1lb a week. Haven’t yet fully decided what weight I am aiming for as an ultimate goal as I set myself interim goals which feel more realistic. I am going to use the BMI as a tool but not rely on it completely. I have naturally big legs and the more I am working out the stronger they are getting so I will have to factor that in with a BMI and focusing on reducing body fat. I look so different to how I did before. One weird thing happening - everyone at work keeps stopping me and saying oh wow you have lost weight and I say yes, still working on it and 99% of people tell me to stop now as I look great. Perhaps I do but I am still overweight.. I am only just out of the obese into the overweight range! I think I’ve been obese for so long people are confused by what me at a healthy weight would look like

When people stop you to tell you "you look great" but then say "don't lose anymore weight" it's because you are starting to look different to the person they know, and it's jarring for them.

Take no heed, they will get used to the new you very quickly!

Since going in Weight Watchers 4 weeks ago I've lost 4 kg. I'm actually eating better than I was on Saxenda and Ozempic. I also like the feeling of a getting to a completely empty stomach which I didn't have. It slowed my digestion down so much I felt bloated.

@OrderOfTheKookaburra well done! Yes I actually can go to the toilet regularly now and no horrendous heartburn all the time! I also had a terrible gallstone episode that hasn’t come back since I stopped ozempic. I am working on managing the hunger feelings and it’s less overwhelming than it was at the start

Hey @Menora, I've just stopped my semaglutide a few days ago and I'm worried about the hunger monster coming back, has the food noise returned for you? If so, how bad is it?

I am not going to lie to you it comes back. You will have to really focus on your motivation to power through it until you can manage the sensation to an easier level. I am using mindfulness to work on managing hungry feelings. This might be useful to you

https://www.londonmindful.com/blog/understanding-the-seven-types-of-hunger/

Also use the hunger satiety scale

Through using these I am mostly getting stomach hungry and I try to eat when I am 3 or 4 but today I left it too long and started to feel a bit rough so I’m cross with myself as this can lead to bingeing

I also must be doing nutrients as I am MAD for marmite lately can’t eat enough of it

That's helpful thank you

@SilkySuky - food noise returned a bit more but to be honest when I moved to Ozempic after being in Saxenda I didn't have the same muting anyway.

What helped me after stopping is bring in Weight Watchers. First couple of weeks I went a little bit crazy on zero point foods (fruit especially) to curb the cravings. But in the last 2 weeks they've gone down and I've been able to concentrate in portion control for the zero foods.

That and playing around with creating sweet treats using Stevia and monk fruit as sweeteners and .5% fat Greek yoghurt instead of cream etc. I didn't really make healthy choices when using Saxenda. It's early days, but so far I've ignored the chocolate in the fridge and am leaving it to the boys, instead I just made myself a chocolate cake using bananas, eggs, cocoa powder and stevia sweetener. I'm about to experiment with a frosting using the yoghurt and monk fruit icing sugar with some cocoa powder. I get the sweet fix but the calories are much lower and I'm still using natural sweeteners instead of aspartame etc.